Drifloon Update [QC: 3/3] [GP 2/2]

The professor?

<p>Drifloon appears to be outclassed by other offensive Flying- and Ghost-types, particularly Murkrow and Misdreavus, because of its low offensive stats. However, Drifloon can create a niche for itself with the combination of Unburden and Flying Gem, doubling its Speed and powering its main STAB, Acrobatics, at the same time. Although its typing allows it to switch into common Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, Drifloon is rather frail without an Eviolite. In addition, with its weakness to Stealth Rock and priority moves such as Sucker Punch and Ice Shard, Drifloon's life span is limited.</p>

<p>Thanks to Unburden, once Drifloon has used its Flying Gem, it instantly becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier, tying with Sand Rush Drilbur. With the abundance of Fighting-types in Little Cup, Drifloon has plenty of opportunities to use Acrobatics, which will have an incredible Base Power of 247 when factoring in STAB and the Flying Gem boost. Shadow Ball is Drifloon's secondary STAB, offering good neutral coverage with Acrobatics and hitting Ghost- and Psychic-type threats, such as the extremely common Misdreavus and Abra, super effectively. Substitute is extremely useful for Drifloon, as it allows Drifloon to avoid Sucker Punch and status moves which would otherwise cripple it.</p>

<p>The final moveslot is up for grabs, as all three moves allow Drifloon to cripple its counters. Destiny Bond is a useful way to remove offensive threats, such as Magnemite and Chinchou, who can shrug off Drifloon's attacks and KO back with their super effective Electric-type moves. However, Destiny Bond isn't as useful against defensive threats such as Porygon or Lileep, as they can avoid Destiny Bond with Recover and easily stall Drifloon out if sandstorm or hail is up. Hypnosis is a lot less situational than Destiny Bond, but is less reliable due to its 60% accuracy. Finally, Disable is an option that goes well with Substitute. It can potentially allow Drifloon to beat Pokemon that only have one attack to hit Drifloon with, such as Shadow Ball from Porygon or Misdreavus. It can also cripple Choice Scarf Magnemite, bypass Sucker Punch users such as Murkrow and Stunky, and stop Lileep and Porygon from using Recover.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Naive nature can be used to outspeed Adamant Drilbur or Speed tie with Jolly Drilbur in sand. A Naughty nature is better in most situations though, as it gives Acrobatics a bit of extra power and still allows Drifloon to Speed tie with Adamant Sand Rush Drilbur. Drifloon has a relatively wide movepool; there are a plethora of other options that can be used on this set. Hidden Power Fire, Hidden Power Fighting, or Hidden Power Ground can all be used to hit Steel-types, the choice depends on who you want to hit harder; Ferroseed is dealt with by Hidden Power Fire, Pawniard is taken down by Hidden Power Fighting, and Magnemite is destroyed by Hidden Power Ground. Due to Little Cup EV mechanics, if you are going to use Hidden Power, you will need to add 4 EVs onto each stat that has been lowered to 30 IVs. However, Drifloon already uses the full 508 EVs, so the best solution is to use 40 Special Attack EVs, 36 HP EVs and 8 EVs in each defense. Thunderbolt is another move that can find a place on this set, hitting Murkrow and Omanyte for super effective damage. Status moves besides Hypnosis are also viable; Will-O-Wisp can cripple Murkrow, Pawniard, Stunky, and other physical attackers, whilst Toxic allows Drifloon to cripple Lileep and Porygon.</p>

<p>Because of Drifloon's fantastic ability to remove its own counters, Pokemon that share similar counters can make good teammates. Misdreavus and Murkrow can both be used in tandem with Drifloon if it manages to take down a Pokemon that threatens them. Fighting-types make exceptional partners to Drifloon due to their ability to beat Steel-, Dark-, and Rock-types. They can also switch into Porygon with ease. Magnemite is another Pokemon that works well with Drifloon, as it can check Murkrow and remove Steel-types from the game. Entry hazard support is also appreciated, as Drifloon isn't the strongest sweeper. Ferroseed and Lileep can both fulfill this role, and they both have the ability to wall Chinchou, who Drifloon finds troublesome. Finally, Rapid Spin support from Staryu or Drilbur is useful due to Drifloon's Stealth Rock weakness.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A set with Substitute, Calm Mind, and an Oran Berry can be used to set up and activate Unburden instead, but it is very difficult to pull off due to Drifloon's frailness and lack of power, even at +1 Special Attack. This set could also be used in conjunction with Baton Pass to support a sweeper or as part of a Baton Pass chain. Sucker Punch can be used to move before opposing priority users, but Drifloon is already fast enough, and the coverage is redundant with its Ghost-type STAB. Thunder Wave is another viable status move, but again, this is often unnecessary with Unburden. Weather Ball is always an option if you're using Drifloon with Snover, although be mindful that this has legality issues with Destiny Bond. Charge Beam can be used if you want to raise Drifloon's Special Attack, but its low Base Power is unappealing. Finally, Memento is an interesting option if Drifloon is severely weakened and you want to give another teammate set-up opportunities.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Drifloon is often difficult to fully counter due to Destiny Bond, Hypnosis, and Disable, but there are many Pokemon that Drifloon struggles against. Many bulky Pokemon with access to reliable recovery, such as Lileep, Porygon, and Hippopotas, take very little from Drifloon's attacks and can stall it out with ease. Steel-types such as Magnemite resist both of Drifloon's STABs and can easily defeat it due to its abysmal defenses. Chinchou is another Pokemon that can hit Drifloon with a super effective attack and has enough special bulk to shrug off Shadow Ball. Dark-types with Sucker Punch, such as Murkrow, Stunky, Houndour, and Pawniard, are a massive pain to Drifloon and can often cause mind games with Substitute and Destiny Bond. Pawniard's secondary Steel typing makes it particularly effective, as Drifloon has no chance of breaking through it with its STAB moves. Tirtouga, Omanyte, and Shellder can all set up on Drifloon without fearing anything but Hypnosis. Tirtouga and Shellder in particular can use priority attacks to outspeed Drifloon. Snover is another notable user of priority that deals a minimum of 54% to Drifloon with Ice Shard.</p>

Okay, I'm removing SubCM, because it's not bulky or powerful enough to pull off and it needs 2 boosts to be decent, which it's not gonna get against a decent player

[Overview]
-Seems to be outclassed by Missy/Krow
-Unburden gives it a cool niche with Acrobatics+gem
-very frail without eviolite
-it's typing allows it to switch into common fighting and ground attacks

[SET COMMENTS]
-Unburden + Flying Gem doubles its speed making it outspeed pretty much everything.
-Has lots of opportunity to set up on fighting types
-Acrobatics smashes things especially on its first use
-Shadow Ball is secondary STAB ~ Good coverage
-Substitute allows Drifloon to avoid sucker punch which would otherwise mess with it.
-Last slot helps it get past/remove its would-be counters
-Destiny Bond makes it a good way to remove things like mag/pawniard etc...
-but Destiny Bond is less useful against the more bulky opponents with access to recovery - especially in weather as it can be stalled out.
-Hypnosis can take a potential counter out of the game.
-Sub + Disable has fantastic synergy and can cripple sucker punch users, or scarf magnemite, or disabling recover/slack off/roost

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
EVs are just max attack+speed then rest in SpA-nothing unusual here
-Naughty vs. Naive - Naive beats Adamant Drilbur in sand and ties with jolly.
-Lots of other moveslot options:
-Hidden Power Fire/Fight/Ground hits steel types like pawniard, Ferroseed, Magnemite
-Thunderbolt can hit Murkrow
-If you're using Hidden Power, EVs need to be taken from SpA and put into defenses
-most hidden powers are too weak and its best sticking with hypnosis to remove its counters
-Will-o-wisp can be used to cripple murkrow and other physical attackers
-Toxic really annoys Lileep or Porygon who can counter Floon quite well.
Team options:
-Destiny Bond lets Drifloon take out many of Murkrow's or Missy's counters allowing them to sweep later on.
-Hates steel-types and Lileep so fighting types or magnemite can make good partners
-fighting types also beat dark types and porygon, who counter this set
-Chinchou can usually take a hit and beat floon - ferro and lileep can counter chinchou and setup hazards which floon appreciates
-rapid spin support is appreciated because Stealth Rock is annoying.

[Other Options]
-SubCM set but it isn't bulky or strong enough.
-Calm Mind could also be used in conjunction with Baton Pass
-Sucker punch is cool priority but Drifloon is fast anyway and the coverage is redundant with its STAB
-Status moves - will-o-wisp, toxic and thunder wave are all viable
-Weather Ball if you're running Snover but it is illegal with DBond
-Charge Beam is okay but it's too weak
-Memento

[Checks and Counters]
-Destiny Bond makes it difficult to fully counter as Drifloon is almost guaranteed a kill
-Drifloon can't do anything to Lileep or Porygon
-Drifloon is relatively weak so lots of other bulky mons -even Hippo will be able to stall it out
-Steel types beat it
-Chinchou beats it
-Sucker Punch users give it trouble (murkrow, pawniard, stunky etc)
-Tirtouga/omanyte/shellder can set up
-Other priority particularly from Snover, tirt + shellder

happily ever after

Smooth

I'd like to see some more focus spent on Pawniard. Right now it is only referred to once, and primarily as a Dark-type. Its Steel typing is also very significant, as it allows Pawniard to switch in effortlessly on Acrobatics and then play Sucker Punch mindgames, which no other Pokemon in the metagame can do to Drifloon.

The professor?

A Beautiful Blossom Waiting to Bloom

My comments will be inside the amcheck, so anything that (imo) is worth giving you an explanation on, I'll have a comment next to the change. Other than that, the writing itself was great; just remember the commas! There were a lot of sentences without it that would drag on.

AdditionsRemoves(Comments)

Corkscrew said:

[Overview]

<p>Due to its lower attacking stats, aAt first glance, (AC) Drifloon seemappears to be outclassed by other offensive Flying- and Ghost-types, (AC) particularly Murkrow and Misdreavus, (AC) because of its low offensives. (Slightly subjective change, but I felt that the sentence seems to flow better the way it is newly re-worded; there wasn't anything particularly wrong with yours, but the structure of it kinda cut the flow (imo, of course, I may be wrong.)) However, thanks to Unburden, Drifloon can create a niche for itself with Acrobatics and a Flying Gem, doubling its sSpeed and powering up Acrobatics at the same time. Although its typing allows it to switch into common Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, Drifloon is rather frail without an Eviolite. AlongIn addition, (AC) with its weakness to Stealth Rock and priority moves such as Sucker Punch and Ice Shard, this makes Drifloon's life span is limited, but it can still be a threatening presence when its on the field.</p>

<p>Thanks to Unburden, once Drifloon has used its Flying Gem, (AC) it instantly becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the metagame along with Sand Rush Drilbur. With the abundance of Fighting-types in Little Cup, Drifloon has no trouble setting up the initial Acrobatics, (AC) which will have an incredible Base Power of 247 when factoring in STAB and the Flying Gem. Shadow Ball is Drifloon's secondary STAB which, (AC) offersing good neutral coverage with Acrobatics and hits Ghost- and Psychic-type threats, such as the extremely common Misdreavus and Abra, super effectively. Substitute is extremely useful for Drifloon, allowing it to avoid Sucker Punch and status moves which would otherwise cripple it.</p>

<p>The final moveslot is reserved for a move which wouldof your choice that allows Drifloon to cripple its own counters. (Because all three moves have its own perks, but still accomplish the same task, I thought it would be worth mentioning that the move they choose is their preference.) Destiny Bond is a useful way to remove offensive threats, (AC) such as Magnemite orand Chinchou, (AC) who can shrug off Drifloon's attacks and KO back with their super effective Electric-type moves. However, Destiny Bond isn't as useful against defensive threats such as Porygon or Lileep, whoas they can avoid Destiny Bond with Recover, (RC) and easily stall Drifloon out if sandstorm or hail is up. Hypnosis is a lot less situational than Destiny Bond but also more unless reliable due to its 60% accuracy. It still follows the same principal of removing one of Drifloon's counters from the game. (That sentence was a bit redundant; in the first sentence of the paragraph, you stated that all three of these moves help remove Drifloon's counters, so I didn't think that sentence was necessary.) Finally, Disable is an option that has good synergy with Substitute. It can potentially allow Drifloon to get past Pokemon that only have one attack to hit Drifloon with, such as Shadow Ball from Porygon or Misdreavus. It can also be used to cripple Choice Scarf Magnemite, Sucker Punch users such as Murkrow and Stunky, or stop Lileep and Porygon from rusing Recovering.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>The EVs are fairly straightforward for this set, simply maximising Speed and Attack and putting the rest in its Special Attack. (When you have an EV spread, unless it gives specific Pokemon it outspeeds / beats, you don't need to have a sentence explaining it, as it would already be implied.) A Naive nature can be used to outspeed Adamant Drilbur, (RC) or sSpeed- tie with Jolly Drilbur, in a sandstorm. A Naughty nature is better in most other situations, (AC) as it gives Acrobatics a bit of extra power and still allows Drifloon to Speed tie with Adamant Sand Rush Drilbur. Drifloon has a relatively wide movepool and; there are a plethora of other options that can be used with this set. Hidden Power Fire, Fighting, or Ground can all be used to hit Steel-types with; the choice dependings on whether you want to hit Ferroseed, Pawniard, or Magnemite the hardest, respectively. If you are going to use Hidden Power, (AC) then you will need to remove EVs from Special Attack and place them into HP and theDrifloon's defenses. Thunderbolt is another attacking option that Drifloon can use, hitting Murkrow and Omanyte for super effective damage. Other status moves besides Hypnosis are also viable with this set. Will-O-Wisp can cripple Murkrow, Pawniard, Stunky, and other physical attackers, whilst Toxic allows you to cripple Lileep and Porygon.</p>

<p>Because of Drifloon's fantastic ability to remove its own counters, Pokemon that share similar counters can make good teammates. Misdreavus and Murkrow can both be used in tandem with Drifloon if it manages to take down a Pokemon that threatens them. Fighting-types make exceptional partners to Drifloon due to their ability to beat Steel-, Dark-, and Rock-types. They can also switch into Porygon with ease. Magnemite is another Pokemon that works with Drifloon, (AC) as it can check Murkrow and remove Steel-types from the game. Support in the form of entry hazards are also appreciated since Drifloon isn't the strongest sweeper. Ferroseed and Lileep can both fulfill this role, (AC) and they both have the ability to wall Chinchou who Drifloon finds troublesome. Finally, (AC) Rapid Spin support from Staryu or Drilbur is useful due to Drifloon's Stealth Rock weakness.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A set with Substitute, Calm Mind and an Oran Berry can be used to set up and activate Unburden, (AC) but it is very difficult to pull off due to Drifloon's frailtyness and its lack of power, even at +1. This set could also be used in conjunction with Baton Pass to support a sweeper or as part of a Baton Pass chain. Sucker Punch can be used to move before opposing priority users, but Drifloon is fast anywayenough, (AC) and the coverage is redundant with its Ghost-type STAB move. Thunder Wave is another viable status move, but again, this is often unnecessary with Unburden. Weather Ball is always an option if you're using Drifloon with Snover, (AC) although be mindful that this has illegality issues with Destiny Bond. Charge Beam can be used if you want to raise yourDrifloon's Special Attack, but theits low bBase pPower is unappealing. (When referring to the Pokemon, make sure you don't refer to it as 'you' or 'your' :)) Finally, Memento is an interesting option if Drifloon is severely weakened and you want to allow another teammate to set up.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Drifloon is often difficult to fully counter due to Destiny Bond, Hypnosis, (AC) and Disable, (AC) but there are many Pokemon that Drifloon struggles against. Many bulky Pokemon with access to reliable recovery, such as Lileep, Porygon, (AC) and Hippopotas take very little from Drifloon's attacks and can stall Drifloon out with ease. Steel-types such as Magnemite resist both of Drifloon's STABs and can easily retaliate due to Drifloon's abysmal defenses. Chinchou is another Pokemon that can hit Drifloon with a super effective attack and has enough Sspecial bulk to shrug off Shadow Ball. Dark-types with Sucker Punch, (AC) such as Murkrow, Stunky, Houndour, and Pawniard, (AC) are a massive pain to Drifloon and can often cause mind games with Substitute and Destiny Bond. Pawniard's secondary Steel-typing makes it particularly effective as Drifloon has no chance of breaking through it with its STAB moves. Tirtouga, Omanyte and Shellder can all set up on Drifloon without fearing anything but Hypnosis. Tirtouga and Shellder, (RC) in particular, (RC) can use priority attacks to outspeed Drifloon. Snover is another notable user of priority that deals a minimum of 54% to Drifloon with Ice Shard.</p>(Yeah, everything I didn't comment on was either nothing too bad or self explanatory; great job on this! :])

The professor?

and at once I knew I was not magnificent

Oof please don't use "at first glance" to open up your analysis. Instead, I recommend you replace the first two lines with:

"Blessed with a rare and useful ability in Unburden that doubles Drifloon's Speed when it loses its item, Drifloon has all that it needs to excel is occupy its own unique niche apart from other Ghost- and Flying-types, despite its low base stats. Unburden, in conjunction with Acrobatics and a Flying Gem, lets Drifloon run a dangerous set that can both take advantage of Unburden's Speed boost and Acrobatics's power boost when it loses its item that turns Drifloon into a fast, powerful sweeper in the blink of an eye."

It's kind of wordy, and you can change it a bit if you wish, but it's at least better than "at first glance". I'll leave everything else up to GP.

What's wrong with being confident?

<p>At first glance, (Requested by Electrolyte) Drifloon appears to be outclassed by other offensive Flying- and Ghost-types, particularly Murkrow and Misdreavus, because of its low offensive stats. However, thanks to Unburden, Drifloon can create a niche for itself with Acrobthe combinatics andon of Unburden and Flying Gem, doubling its Speed and powering up its main STAB, Acrobatics,(AC) at the same time. Although its typing allows it to switch into common Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, Drifloon is rather frail without an Eviolite. In addition, with its weakness to Stealth Rock and priority moves such as Sucker Punch and Ice Shard, Drifloon's life(remove space) span is limited, but it can still be a threatening presence when it's on the field (fluff).</p>

<p>Thanks to Unburden, once Drifloon has used its Flying Gem, it instantly becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the metagame alo,(AC) tying with Sand Rush Drilbur. With the abundance of Fighting-types in Little Cup, Drifloon doesn't has no trouble setve to worry about wasting up the initial Acrobatics (You can reword this sentence the way you like, although make sure you don't make it seem like Acrobatics is a setup move.), which will have an incredible Base Power of 247 when factoring in STAB and the Flying Gem boost. Shadow Ball is Drifloon's secondary STAB,(AC) offering good neutral coverage with Acrobatics and hitsting Ghost- and Psychic-type threats, such as the extremely common Misdreavus and Abra, super effectively. Substitute is extremely useful for Drifloon, as it allows Drifloong it to avoid Sucker Punch and status moves which would otherwise cripple it.</p>

<p>The final moveslot is reservedup for a move of your choice thatgrabs, as all three moves allows Drifloon to cripple its own counters. Destiny Bond is a useful way to remove offensive threats, such as Magnemite and Chinchou, who can shrug off Drifloon's attacks and KO back with their super effective Electric-type moves. However, Destiny Bond isn't as useful against defensive threats such as Porygon or Lileep, as they can avoid Destiny Bond with Recover and easily stall Drifloon out if sandstorm or hail is up. Hypnosis is a lot less situational than Destiny Bond,(AC) but less reliable due to its 60% accuracy. Finally, Disable is an option that has good synergyes well(Substitute and Disable aren't types, they're moves.) with Substitute. It can potentially allow Drifloon to get past Pokemon that only have one attack to hit Drifloon with, such as Shadow Ball from Porygon or Misdreavus. It can also be used to cripple Choice Scarf Magnemite, bypass Sucker Punch users such as Murkrow and Stunky, orand stop Lileep and Porygon from using Recovering.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Naive nature can be used to outspeed Adamant Drilbur or Speed tie with Jolly Drilbur in sand. A Naughty nature is better in most situations though, as it gives Acrobatics a bit of extra power and still allows Drifloon to Speed tie with Adamant Sand Rush Drilbur. Drifloon has a relatively wide movepool; there are a plethora of other options that can be used withon this set. Hidden Power Fire, Hidden Power Fighting, or Hidden Power Ground can all be used to hit Steel-types;<remove semi>,(AC) the choice depends on whethero you want to hit harder;(semi) Ferroseed is dealt with Hidden Power Fire, Pawniard,is taken down by Hidden Power Fighting, and Magnemite the haris dest, respectivelyroyed by Hidden Power Ground(The thought is a bit more run-on now, but it was necessary as the previous writing was really confusing.). If you are going to use Hidden Power, you will need to remove EVs from Special Attack and place them into HP and Drifloon's defenses. Thunderbolt is another attacking option that Drifloon canbe use,d to hitting Murkrow and Omanyte for super effective damage. Other sStatus moves besides Hypnosis are also viable withon this set.<RP>;(semi) Will-O-Wisp can cripple Murkrow, Pawniard, Stunky, and other physical attackers, whilst Toxic allows you to cripple Lileep and Porygon.</p>

<p>Because of Drifloon's fantastic ability to remove its own counters, Pokemon that share similar counters can make good teammates. Misdreavus and Murkrow can both be used in tandem with Drifloon if it manages to take down a Pokemon that threatens them. Fighting-types make exceptional partners to Drifloon due to their ability to beat Steel-, Dark-, and Rock-types. They can also switch into Porygon with ease. Magnemite is another Pokemon that works well with Drifloon, as it can check Murkrow and remove Steel-types from the game. Support in the form of eEntry hazards are support is also appreciated asince Drifloon isn't the strongest sweeper. Ferroseed and Lileep can both fulfill this role, and they both have the ability to wall Chinchou,(AC) who Drifloon finds troublesome. Finally, Rapid Spin support from Staryu or Drilbur is useful due to Drifloon's Stealth Rock weakness.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A set with Substitute, Calm Mind,(AC) and an Oran Berry can be used to set up and activate Unburden, but it is very difficult to pull off due to Drifloon's frailness and its lack of power, even at +1. This set could also be used in conjunction with Baton Pass to support a sweeper or as part of a Baton Pass chain. Sucker Punch can be used to move before opposing priority users, but Drifloon is already fast enough, and the coverage is redundant with its Ghost-type STAB. Thunder Wave is another viable status move, but again, this is often unnecessary with Unburden. Weather Ball is always an option if you're using Drifloon with Snover, although be mindful that this has illegality issues with Destiny Bond. Charge Beam can be used if you want to raise Drifloon's Special Attack, but its low Base Power is unappealing. Finally, Memento is an interesting option if Drifloon is severely weakened and you want to allowgive another teammate to set upup opportunities.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Drifloon is often difficult to fully counter due to Destiny Bond, Hypnosis, and Disable,(AC) but there are many Pokemon that Drifloon struggles against. Many bulky Pokemon with access to reliable recovery, such as Lileep, Porygon, and Hippopotas,(AC) take very little from Drifloon's attacks and can stall Drifloonit out with ease. Steel-types such as Magnemite resist both of Drifloon's STABs and can easily retaliatedefeat it due to Drifloon's abysmal defenses. Chinchou is another Pokemon that can hit Drifloon with a super effective attack and has enough special bulk to shrug off Shadow Ball. Dark-types with Sucker Punch, such as Murkrow, Stunky, Houndour, and Pawniard, are a massive pain to Drifloon and can often cause mind games with Substitute and Destiny Bond. Pawniard's secondary Steel-<remove hyphen>(space)typing makes it particularly effective as Drifloon has no chance of breaking through it with its STAB moves. Tirtouga, Omanyte and Shellder can all set up on Drifloon without fearing anything but Hypnosis. Tirtouga and Shellder in particular can use priority attacks to outspeed Drifloon. Snover is another notable user of priority that deals a minimum of 54% to Drifloon with Ice Shard.</p>

betwixt the threads of fates untold

[Overview]
<p>Drifloon appears to be outclassed by other offensive Flying- and Ghost-types, particularly Murkrow and Misdreavus, because of its low offensive stats. However, Drifloon can create a niche for itself with the combination of Unburden and Flying Gem, doubling its Speed and powering its main STAB, Acrobatics, at the same time. Although its typing allows it to switch into common Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, Drifloon is rather frail without an Eviolite. In addition, with its weakness to Stealth Rock and priority moves such as Sucker Punch and Ice Shard, Drifloon's life span is limited.</p>

<p>Thanks to Unburden, once Drifloon has used its Flying Gem, it instantly becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier metagame*, tying with Sand Rush Drilbur. With the abundance of Fighting-types in Little Cup, Drifloon has plenty of opportunities to use Acrobatics, which will have an incredible Base Power of 247 when factoring in STAB and the Flying Gem boost. Shadow Ball is Drifloon's secondary STAB, offering good neutral coverage with Acrobatics and hitting Ghost- and Psychic-type threats, such as the extremely common Misdreavus and Abra, super effectively. Substitute is extremely useful for Drifloon, as it allows Drifloon to avoid Sucker Punch and status moves which would otherwise cripple it.</p>

*I don't think metagame is the right word here. Meta refers more to trends and such, whereas tier encompasses all of LC. At least, that's my interpretation.

<p>The final moveslot is up for grabs, as all three moves allow Drifloon to cripple its counters. Destiny Bond is a useful way to remove offensive threats, such as Magnemite and Chinchou, who can shrug off Drifloon's attacks and KO back with their super effective Electric-type moves. However, Destiny Bond isn't as useful against defensive threats such as Porygon or Lileep, as they can avoid Destiny Bond with Recover and easily stall Drifloon out if sandstorm or hail is up. Hypnosis is a lot less situational than Destiny Bond, but is less reliable due to its 60% accuracy. Finally, Disable is an option that goes well with Substitute. It can potentially allow Drifloon to get past* Pokemon that only have one attack to hit Drifloon with, such as Shadow Ball from Porygon or Misdreavus. It can also be used to cripple Choice Scarf Magnemite, bypass Sucker Punch users such as Murkrow and Stunky, and stop Lileep and Porygon from using Recover.</p>

*Nitpicky suggestion: consider changing this to "beat" or "bypass". Both these words IMO are more descriptive. For example, with "get past", do you mean that Drifloon with win the matchup, or simply force them out so that they can switch back in another time?

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Naive nature can be used to outspeed Adamant Drilbur or Speed tie with Jolly Drilbur in sand. A Naughty nature is better in most situations though, as it gives Acrobatics a bit of extra power and still allows Drifloon to Speed tie with Adamant Sand Rush Drilbur. Drifloon has a relatively wide movepool; there are a plethora of other options that can be used on this set. Hidden Power Fire, Hidden Power Fighting, or Hidden Power Ground can all be used to hit Steel-types, the choice depends on who you want to hit harder; Ferroseed is dealt with by Hidden Power Fire, Pawniard is taken down by Hidden Power Fighting, and Magnemite is destroyed by Hidden Power Ground. If you are going to use Hidden Power, you will need to remove EVs from Special Attack and place them into HP and Drifloon's defenses.* Thunderbolt can be used to hit Murkrow and Omanyte for super effective damage. Status moves besides Hypnosis are also viable on this set; Will-O-Wisp can cripple Murkrow, Pawniard, Stunky, and other physical attackers, whilst Toxic allows you Drifloon to cripple Lileep and Porygon.</p>

*can you explain this more? Should we remove all SpA EVs or just some? Also, why do you remove SpA EVs, because isn't HP a special attack? Is it because the corresponding HP will OHKO regardless of EV investment? Furthermore, what move would be best replaced by the Hidden Powers?

<p>Because of Drifloon's fantastic ability to remove its own counters, Pokemon that share similar counters can make good teammates. Misdreavus and Murkrow can both be used in tandem with Drifloon if it manages to take down a Pokemon that threatens them. Fighting-types make exceptional partners to Drifloon due to their ability to beat Steel-, Dark-, and Rock-types. They can also switch into Porygon with ease. Magnemite is another Pokemon that works well with Drifloon, as it can check Murkrow and remove Steel-types from the game. Entry hazard support is also appreciated,[comma] as Drifloon isn't the strongest sweeper. Ferroseed and Lileep can both fulfill this role, and they both have the ability to wall Chinchou, who Drifloon finds troublesome. Finally, Rapid Spin support from Staryu or Drilbur is useful due to Drifloon's Stealth Rock weakness.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A set with Substitute, Calm Mind, and an Oran Berry can be used to set up and activate Unburden instead, but it is very difficult to pull off due to Drifloon's frailness and lack of power, even at +1 Special Attack. This set could also be used in conjunction with Baton Pass to support a sweeper or as part of a Baton Pass chain. Sucker Punch can be used to move before opposing priority users, but Drifloon is already fast enough, and the coverage is redundant with its Ghost-type STAB. Thunder Wave is another viable status move, but again, this is often unnecessary with Unburden. Weather Ball is always an option if you're using Drifloon with Snover, although be mindful that this has illegality legality* issues with Destiny Bond. Charge Beam can be used if you want to raise Drifloon's Special Attack, but its low Base Power is unappealing. Finally, Memento is an interesting option if Drifloon is severely weakened and you want to give another teammate set-up opportunities.</p>

*this is an idiom / some obscure rule or something, but I think you're supposed to use the positive version of the word when referring to issues / problems (or something). I just haven't heard "illegality issues" before.

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Drifloon is often difficult to fully counter due to Destiny Bond, Hypnosis, and Disable, but there are many Pokemon that Drifloon struggles against. Many bulky Pokemon with access to reliable recovery, such as Lileep, Porygon, and Hippopotas, take very little from Drifloon's attacks and can stall it out with ease. Steel-types such as Magnemite resist both of Drifloon's STABs and can easily defeat it due to Drifloon's itsabysmal defenses. Chinchou is another Pokemon that can hit Drifloon with a super effective attack and has enough special bulk to shrug off Shadow Ball. Dark-types with Sucker Punch, such as Murkrow, Stunky, Houndour, and Pawniard, are a massive pain to Drifloon and can often cause mind games with Substitute and Destiny Bond. Pawniard's secondary Steel typing makes it particularly effective,[comma] as Drifloon has no chance of breaking through it with its STAB moves. Tirtouga, Omanyte,[comma] and Shellder can all set up on Drifloon without fearing anything but Hypnosis. Tirtouga and Shellder in particular can use priority attacks to outspeed Drifloon. Snover is another notable user of priority that deals a minimum of 54% to Drifloon with Ice Shard.</p>

2/2

manual stamping ;-;

note I haven't done this in a while so feel free to rescind my stamp or whatever I won't take offense

@Corkscrew The red section is actually partially incorrect; stats that have no EV investment will not be affected by the change in IV from 31 to 30. For example, Drifloon has 10 Special Defense with the given EVs with both 31 or 30 IVs, but it will need 8 EVs instead of 4 to raise the stat to 11. You might want to specify that.

Banned deucer.

Okay, so it seems that it's already gotten 2 GP checks, but i don't care, my corrections need to be made, and my comments need to be listened to. (Not to be rude, Vox, but you missed at the very least one straight-up grammatical error.)

As for the EVs section, i'm not sure if i get what you mean. Do you want a spread of 36 hp/8 def/40 SpA/8 SpD/(whatever speed)? And if not, you should explain that. Actually, if so, just say you should use a spread of (blah blah), which sounds better.

Comments said:

You use the word cripple a bit too much, and it's often used badly; for example, you (unintentionally?) say Sucker Punch cripples Drifloon, plus that all three moves in the fourth slot cripples stuff and Disable cripples scarf Magnemite. None of that's true, i'm afraid. (I changed one of them for being repetitive, plus incorrect as a bonus)

It's odd that you mention it's frail without Eviolite, that kind of implies Eviolite is an option, and since it's not even in OO, pretty sure it's not. Keep it like that if you want, but *shrugs*.

Maybe the Hidden Power section needs to be done a bit better, since HP fight also hits ferro, HP fire also hits the other two, and Hp ground also hits pawniard? Just sayin'

When you mention Chinchou, you fail to mention that it resists acrobatics, which is kind of big. Also, Volt Switch is nice, i guess, if you want to throw that in.

I feel that there must be a better description then 'causes mind games' for Dark-types using Sucker Punch in Checks and Counters, potentially one explaining that sucker punch can force you into 50/50 situations. (Also, if you Dbond, won't they die no matter what? The only way to survive is if next turn they take an acro and KO you, since if they punch they'll activate Dbond and if they killed you Dbond activates, etc.)

The 'be mindful' sentence change i made is probably the most subjective;i feel that the way i rewrote it fits a good deal better with 'be mindful', but that's up to you, really

<p>Drifloon appears to be outclassed by other offensive Flying- and Ghost-types, particularly Murkrow and Misdreavus, because of its low offensive stats. However, Drifloon can create a niche for itself with the combination of Unburden and Flying Gem, doubling its Speed and powering up its main STAB, Acrobatics, at the same time. Although its typing allows it to switch into common Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, Drifloon is rather frail without an Eviolite. In addition, with its weakness to Stealth Rock and priority moves such as Sucker Punch and Ice Shard, Drifloon's life span is limited.</p>

<p>Thanks to Unburden, once Drifloon has used its Flying Gem, it instantly becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the tier, tying with Sand Rush Drilbur. With the abundance of Fighting-types in Little Cup, Drifloon has plenty of opportunities to use Acrobatics, which will have an incredible Base Power of 247 when factoring in STAB and the Flying Gem boost. Shadow Ball is Drifloon's secondary STAB, offering good neutral coverage with Acrobatics and hitting Ghost- and Psychic-type threats, such as the extremely common Misdreavus and Abra, super effectively. Substitute is extremely useful for Drifloon, as it allows Drifloon to avoid Sucker Punch and status moves which would otherwise cripple it.</p>

<p>The final moveslot is up for grabs, as all three moves allow Drifloon to crippledeal with its counters. Destiny Bond is a useful way to remove offensive threats, such as Magnemite and Chinchou, who can shrug off Drifloon's attacks and KO back with their super effective Electric-type moves. However, Destiny Bond isn't as useful against defensive threats such as Porygon or Lileep, as they can avoid Destiny Bond with Recover and easily stall Drifloon out if sandstorm or hail is up. Hypnosis is a lot less situational than Destiny Bond, but is less reliable due to its 60% accuracy. Finally, Disable is an option that goes well with Substitute. It can potentially allow Drifloon to beat Pokemon that only have one attack to hit Drifloon with, such as Shadow Ball from Porygon orand Misdreavus with Shadow Ball. It can also cripple Choice Scarf Magnemite, bypass Sucker Punch users such as Murkrow and Stunky, and stop Lileep and Porygon from using Recover.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Naive nature can be used to outspeed Adamant Drilbur or Speed tie with Jolly Drilbur in sand. A Naughty nature is better in most situations though, as it gives Acrobatics a bit of extra power and still allows Drifloon to Speed tie with Adamant Sand Rush Drilbur. Drifloon has a relatively wide movepool; there are a plethora of other options that can be used on this set. Hidden Power Fire, Hidden Power Fighting, or Hidden Power Ground can all be used to hit Steel-types, the choice depends on who you want to hit harder; Ferroseed is dealt with by Hidden Power Fire, Pawniard is taken down by Hidden Power Fighting, and Magnemite is destroyed by Hidden Power Ground. Due to Little Cup EV mechanics, if you are going to use Hidden Power, you will need to add 4 EVs onto each stat that has been lowered to 30 IVs. However, Drifloon already uses the full 508 EVs, so the best solution is to use 40 Special Attack EVs, 36 HP EVs and 8 EVs in each defense. Thunderbolt is another move that can find a place on this set, hitting Murkrow and Omanyte for super effective damage. Status moves besides Hypnosis are also viable; Will-O-Wisp can cripple Murkrow, Pawniard, Stunky, and other physical attackers, whilst Toxic allows Drifloon to cripple Lileep and Porygon.</p>

<p>Because of Drifloon's fantastic ability to remove its own counters, Pokemon that share similar counters can make good teammates. Misdreavus and Murkrow can both be used in tandem with Drifloon if it manages to take down a Pokemon that threatens them. Fighting-types make exceptional partners to Drifloon due to their ability to beat Steel-, Dark-, and Rock-types. They can also switch into Porygon with ease. Magnemite is another Pokemon that works well with Drifloon, as it can check Murkrow and remove Steel-types from the game. Entry hazard support is also appreciated, as Drifloon isn't the strongest sweeper. Ferroseed and Lileep can both fulfill this role, and they both have the ability to wall Chinchou, who Drifloon finds troublesome. Finally, Rapid Spin support from Staryu or Drilbur is useful due to Drifloon's Stealth Rock weakness.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A set with Substitute, Calm Mind, and an Oran Berry can be used to set up and activate Unburden instead, but it is very difficult to pull off due to Drifloon's frailness and lack of power, even at +1 Special Attack. This set could also be used in conjunction with Baton Pass to support a sweeper or as part of a Baton Pass chain. Sucker Punch can be used to move before opposing priority users, but Drifloon is already fast enough, and the coverage is redundant with its Ghost-type STAB. Thunder Wave is another viable status move, but again, this is often unnecessary with Unburden. Weather Ball is always an option if you're using Drifloon with Snover, although be mindful that this haof its legality issues with Destiny Bond. Charge Beam can be used if you want to raise Drifloon's Special Attack, but its low Base Power is unappealing. Finally, Memento is an interesting option if Drifloon is severely weakened and you want to give another teammate set-up opportunities.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Drifloon is often difficult to fully counter due to Destiny Bond, Hypnosis, and Disable, but there are many Pokemon that Drifloon struggles against. ManyA lot of bulky Pokemon with access to reliable recovery, such as Lileep, Porygon, and Hippopotas, take very little from Drifloon's attacks and can stall it out with ease. Steel-types such as Magnemite resist both of Drifloon's STABs and can easily defeat it due to its abysmal defenses. Chinchou is another Pokemon that can hit Drifloon with a super effective attack and has enough special bulk to shrug off Shadow Ball. Dark-types with Sucker Punch, such as Murkrow, Stunky, Houndour, and Pawniard, are a massive pain to Drifloon and can often cause mind games with Substitute and Destiny Bond. Pawniard's secondary Steel typing makes it particularly effective, as Drifloon has no chance of breaking through it with its STAB moves. Tirtouga, Omanyte, and Shellder can all set up on Drifloon without fearing anything but Hypnosis. Tirtouga and Shellder in particular can use priority attacks to outspeed Drifloon. Snover is another notable user of priority that deals a minimum of 54% to Drifloon with Ice Shard.</p>